Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has hinted that club captain Sergio Ramos could be in line to make a return for the Spanish giants when they face Chelsea in the second-leg of their UEFA Champions League showdown at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday evening.
The experienced defender, who has won four Champions League titles during his career, has recently returned to training following a spell on the sidelines with a muscle problem.
The injury has forced him to miss Madrid's last nine games in all competitions, meaning Zidane has been without his most experienced defender at a crucial stage in the season.
However, the defender is now making progress and could be set to make a return against Chelsea on Wednesday evening, despite being left out of the Madrid squad that will lock horns with Osasuna this evening in La Liga.
"He [Ramos] is training with us and that means he's able to play too," Zidane said, as quoted by the Mail. "We'll see what we do when we name the squad, but Sergio is fit and ready to play."
Since Zidane made that statement on Friday afternoon, Madrid have announced their squad that will lock horns with Osasuna this evening, but Ramos has not been included, despite being fit.
That, therefore, suggests that Zidane is allowing the Spain international to have a few more days worth of recovery before making a return for what can only be described as the club's biggest game of the season.
Should he return to the starting line-up on Wednesday evening against the Blues it will be interesting to see where he will slot in. On Tuesday evening, Madrid lined up with a back-five, with Raphael Varane, Eder Militao and Nacho taking up residency as the three central-defenders.
Dani Carvajal and Marcelo acted as the wing-backs, but both of them could miss out against Chelsea.
Carvajal has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury, whilst it remains to be seen how Marcelo will link-up with the squad because of Covid regulations, as he is not going to travel with the rest of his teammates to London because he has to be part of a polling station in the Madrid Assembly elections, which are set to take place on Tuesday, May 4, just one day ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Should Marcelo join Carvajal in not featuring against Thomas Tuchel's side, it could mean a major shift in approach from Zidane, with Ramos possibly slotting in at centre-back and Nacho moving across to left-back, with Ferland Mendy continuing to struggle with an injury problem.
